


Falling To Dust

by Bittodeath



Category: Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Death, Fix-It of Sorts, Haunting, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Romance, Sad Ending, Undead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29084088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittodeath/pseuds/Bittodeath
Summary: The legend says: some Mandalorians haunt their armour after death.Few know that it is not mere legend. Few ever know.Anakin meets Jango again - after seeing him fall in the sand of Geonosis. But what can you do, when the one you love is already dead?
Relationships: Jango Fett/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52





	Falling To Dust

**Author's Note:**

> While _technically_ being a fix-it, this is also mostly sad and full of feels. I wrote most of it in a fit of inspiration weeks ago on Discord and finally edited it and filled up the holes to make it a complete story.
> 
> This is all inspired by [this post](https://bittodeath.tumblr.com/post/638943546149388288) that I heavily encourage you to read before this story.

There are legends, on Mandalore. Of undead warriors haunting their armours, until they have fulfilled their purpose. Of empty armours bringing slaughter to battlefields, driving enemies away... protecting children.  
For most of the galaxy, those are only legends, scary stories to make children behave. For most Mandalorians, though, it is a reality. Places where you should not step, should never go unless you're desperate.

When Jango falls on Geonosis, he still has a young son to care for, to educate and protect, and a vengeance to see through. So, once the Jedi are gone, once the dust has settled, he stands up, picks up his helmet, and puts it on again. His gauntlet takes Boba's hand, and leads him back to the Slave I. They get away, to patch up their wounds, soothe their hurt. Boba is terrified - and so is Jango, but all he can do is stay strong for Boba and make sure they stay hidden. Until the time is right.

He kills Jedi. Those who could have reported back on his living again are too dead to say anything, and they are at a clear disadvantage. He was already a Jedi Killer before dying. Now he's a lot worse.  
Outside of Mandalorians, though, there are not many amongst the Jedi who know they can do that. Obi-Wan knows. He ran into some during his mission on Mandalore. He still has nightmares of it. Yoda knows, if only because of his age. Jocasta knows the legend, but has no idea it is real.

So when he runs into Anakin and expects to kill yet another Jedi, Anakin has no idea what he is facing. And he expects one of his sweeps to be a killing one... except Jango stands up again. So Anakin finally pays attention to his Force signature, and stares back in disbelief. Because the man in the armour is dead, and now that he thinks about it, he saw him fall on Geonosis.

"What are you?", he says breathily, with slight wonder.

This is a man who beat death. If Anakin knows how he did it- His mother didn't have to die.  
Anakin doesn't think - he reaches out to touch the man who is dead, and still walks, still talks, still fights.  
And Jango. Jango pauses, because while other Jedi were horrified and appalled and called him a monster, Anakin doesn't. Anakin looks at him in open wonder, clearly curious and marvelling. And he lets him touch. He lost that sense a long time ago, but Anakin reaches out with more than a hand - he reaches out with the Force and Jango can feel his touch on his glove. His hand isn't even there anymore, he lost it to a lightsabre. But he feels his touch and it's the first one since he died.  
And Anakin looks at Boba, hiding farther away. He saw him on Geonosis too, and he understands. "You're staying for him. For your son."  
Jango almost growls in threat, but- he recognizes the look in Anakin's eyes. He saw it in his own far too many times after Jaster's death, after his _buir_ fell and didn't stand back up. He nods... and he lets Anakin go.  
He knows, deep down, that the Jedi won't tell a soul.

  
It isn't long before Anakin notices there are undead amongst the clones too. He pulls them under his command, does his best as a Commander to keep their secret. They risk so much more than death if they are exposed.

Comes his Knighting, and he becomes a General, with a battalion under his orders. He takes the ones he already had, whose numbers are dwindling as their armour gets damaged. Rex is one of the very few living _vode_ he has, and Rex won't tattle - not even when Anakin meets Jango, again and again and again. Definitely not when Anakin starts picking up undead shinies and pulling undead _vode_ from other battallions.

Hevy is one of the first. Anakin picks him up after the explosion, there's nothing left of his body but there's his armour. And since he was a shiny...  
Rex cries when they get Keeli. Keeli, who stood to the end, and it still wasn't enough. He cries again when they pick a company's worth of Wolffe's men, after the attack of the Malevolence. He cries so many times, until his tears have dried. He fights with the dead, after all. They only have a little respite, before they join the march away.

Anakin doesn't say a word.  
He doesn't say a word about it to Palpatine. Because he might be his friend, but he's also the Chancellor, and Anakin knows if he told him, he'd have to take action. He couldn't keep it a secret.  
He doesn't say a word about it to Obi-Wan either, but Obi-Wan is smart... and starts "transferring" some from the 212th over to him. It can't be a coincidence that they're all dead.  
And Jango starts to think... well, maybe he doesn't need to kill the Jedi. Maybe they can do something good, if they're taking care of the troopers like this. And he sees how Anakin is with Boba.

And he can never forget he's dead. He can't hug Boba anymore, and he has no idea when/if he'll ever march away. It takes time, but he ultimately makes Anakin Boba's guardian, should something happen to him.  
They can't exchange armour either, since Jango literally inhabits his, but he has copies of his vambraces made for Anakin.  
Anakin is obsessed by death, though. Far more than he ever should be. And Palpatine notices it.

Anakin Falls. Not because Palpatine offered him an out that wasn't the right one, but because he reached for the Dark Side to try to find a way to save Jango. His Undead soldiers cannot be affected by the chip, since they're dead, and Palpatine is ripped to pieces before he can launch Order 66.  
The war is over, and many of the Undead just... go on. They are mourned and their armours burnt, and suddenly the losses seem a lot more massive  
Few keep on going, because they had something more than the war to make them stand. Jango, of course, is one of them.  
And Anakin is still searching for a way to bring the man he fell in love with back. No one has seen him since Palpatine's death. Obi-Wan suspects something terrible happened, because their bond is completely blocked.

And Jango... it pains him to see Anakin so unhinged over him. He ends up entrusting Boba to Rex, because Anakin clearly isn't fit to care for a child, and he- he has no idea how long he'll remain there, haunting. Boba isn't a child anymore, technically. He saw him through the war, and transmitted their tradition.  
And Anakin, obviously, can tell than Jango is slipping through his fingers.  
Anakin is… unwell. Losing his sanity, more and more. He wants to make Jango stay. And he says he'll go into the Temple, and kill everyone there. And only Jango can stop him. But to stop him, he has to stay.  
He's likely not bluffing either, since he just killed the Separatist leaders on Mustafar with extreme prejudice. And Jango is honestly scared. It is one thing to lose control of yourself. To be dead. It is another to see someone you love and never managed to even hold properly lose all that was good and bright in them for a wild goose chase.

He manages to get in contact with Obi-Wan, who comes to get Anakin and try to reason him. Try to help. Do something. And he finds his former Padawan yelling at an empty armour that is still standing. He knows who is in there. He never suspected the depth of Anakin's feelings, however. And to see him like this, golden-eyed and completely gone? It breaks his heart.  
It's worse when Anakin notices him and accuses Jango of betraying him, accuses Obi-Wan of wanting to take Jango from him. The Dark Side sees no reason, not when it is wailing like it is in Anakin, and making promises it can never keep.  
The facility is starting to groan under the weight of Anakin's anger, and it might very well sink. Another ship just arrived - Rex, and Boba, and Ahsoka. And Jango panics, because Anakin is too far gone now.

So he does the only thing he can with his dwindling presence: he wraps his armour around Anakin, whispers one last "I love you" and "I'll see you on the other side". And steps backward, over the railing, and straight into the lava, bringing Anakin with him.


End file.
